Canadian designer Herman Herbert Schwartz created many of Canada’s most recognizable stamps. His portfolio includes what is considered one of the great classics in stamp design, the 50c Bluenose. He brought a keen eye for detail to his job and was a lion among Canadian designers. He’s my personal favourite, partially because he is responsible for all of Canada’s airmail stamps. It was my acquisition of the 5c Daedalus in flight stamp that kicked off my obsession with airmail decades ago.

I was hard put to find much information on Herbert Schwarz, beyond a few lines. He doesn’t even rank a mention in the Canadian Encyclopedia. The only details on Schwartz I found, came via his family’s Halifax, Nova Scotia spice company W.H. Schwartz & Sons. He came from a family of successful merchants but wasn’t interested in joining the firm. Instead, he pursued a career as an illustrator, apprenticing with the American Bank Note Company of Ottawa in 1909. This started his long association with Canadian stamps that spanned from his first design in 1927 to his last stamp in 1955.

It’s difficult to understand why so little is written about Schwartz given his contributions in creating a distinctive Canadian stamp design. When Covid lifts, I’ll head off to the reference library and see if I can find any information to fill in the gaps. Until then, I have to make due with the few scraps I found.

Herman Herbert Schwartz designed over 80 stamps for the Canadian post office, starting with the 2c Fathers of Confederation in 1927 and finally the 1955 Prime Minister series. He was involved in several other projects in the late 50s, but did not act as designer, so I haven’t listed them here. I will add engraver information when I find it or get the time to list the information. Without the engravers work, none of these stamps would have been so outstanding.

When going through my collection, picking out which ones to scan, I was amused by what was missing. You can tell which ones I’m not fond of. I’ve never attempted to replace the 3c George V & Mary stamp or 2c Duke of York. I’ve always found them bland and lifeless. I acquired these space fillers 40 years ago or more and have never bothered buying mint versions. One day, maybe when I retire or run out of stamps to hunt down.

I’m in the process of creating lists of designers and their stamps. This is the first, of hopefully, a series. I’ve already begun to write up Paprika Designs, who are responsible for some fabulous modern stamps. While I’m pulling the next one together, I’ll create a new category – Stamp Designers and put it in the menu above. I have, in spreadsheet style, over 50 designers from Canada, Norway, Denmark, Macau and Australia. And of course, this will be a long-term project that will grow slowly. The aim is to recognize the work done by illustrators and designers who have created so many collectable works of art in a mini format.

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If you find an error or omission, leave a message in the comments section below. Please note, some images are missing because I don’t have them in my collection. I might upload stock images at a later point, I haven’t made up my mind yet.

Stamps designed by Herman Herbert Schwartz

Regular stamps 1929 – 1949

1927 60th Anniversary of Confederation

2c Fathers of Confederation

3c Parliament Buildings

1c Sir John A

5c Sir Wilfred Laurier

12c Map of Canada

1928-29

King George V Scroll Issue (6 stamps)

1928
10c Mount Hurd

1929
12c Quebec Bridge

20c Harvesting

50c Bluenose 

$1 Parliament buildings

1930-1931
King George V Arch/Leaf Issue (11 stamps)

10c Library of Parliament

1935
10c RCMP

13c Charlottetown

20c Niagara Falls

50c Victoria Parliament

$1 Champlain Monument

1c Princess Elizabeth

2c Duke of York

3c George V & Mary

5c Prince of Wales

12c Royal Yacht Britannia

10c Windsor Castle

KGV series – crown | Pictorial (6 in series)

 1937 
King George VI – Mufti issue 6 issues

1938 
13c Halifax Harbour

10c Parliament

20c Fort Garry

50c Vancouver Harbour

$1 Château de Ramezay

1939 Royal Visit
1c Elizabeth & Margaret Rose

2c National Memorial

3c KGVI & Elizabeth

1942 – 1954

1942
King George VI in uniform series (6 stamps)

4c Grain Elevator

8c Farm Scene of Eastern Canada

10c Parliament

13c Ram tank

20c Corvette

50c Munitions Factory

$1 Destroyer

1943
14c Ram Tank

1946 Peace Issues
10c Great Bear Lake in NWT

14c Quebec Hydro-Electric Station

20c Tractor Drawn Thresher

50c Loggin in BC

$1 PEI Train Ferry

1947 
4c Alexander Graham Bell

4c Citizen

1948
4c HRH Princess Elizabeth marriage

4c Responsible Government

1949 
4c Cabot’s “Mathew” NFLD

4c Halifax

King G VI peace issues

1950 
50c Oil development in the west

10c Canada’s fur resources

1951 
5c Ships

7c Stagecoach and Plane

15c 3 pence beaver stamp on stamp

4c Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip

1952 
4c International Red Cross

3c Abbott (PM series)

3c McKenzie (PM series)

1953
Karsh Queen Elizabeth II (5 stamps)

1954
Wilding Queen Elizabeth series

4c Prime Minister Thompson

5c Prime Minister Bowell

1955 
4c Prime Minister Bennett

5c Prime Minister Tupper

All airmails designed by Schwartz and engraved by Silas Robert Allan

Canadian Express & Airmail stamps Herman Herbert Schwartz

Air Post Special Delivery

1942-43 
16c Trans-Canada airplane

17c Trans-Canada airplane

1943
17c Trans-Canada airplane special delivery

Airmail 1927 – 1947

1928
5c allegory of flight

1930
5c Mercury circles the globe with “Air” print

1932
Allegory of flight 6c surcharge

Mercury, air – Ottawa Conference

1935
5c Daedalus in flight 

1938 
6c Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories

1942
6c WW2 Pilot, training

1943 
7c WW2 Pilot, training

1946 
7c Canada Geese near Sudbury, On

Herman Herbert Schwartz Canadian Special Delivery stamps

1927 Confederation Issue

20c Special Delivery Expres 

1935

20c Special Delivery Expres 

1938
20c Special Delivery Expres 

1939
10c Special Deivery Express

20c overprinted on 10c

1942
1942 10c War Issue

1946
1943 10c Peace Issue

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For a deeper dive into Canadian airmail, see this article:

Canada’s last airmail stamp – Canada Geese in Flight 1946